


Her Bloody Christmas Tree

by Caedmon



Series: Advent [10]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Tree, F/M, Trimming the tree
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-10
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-09-07 15:51:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8806954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caedmon/pseuds/Caedmon
Summary: The Doctor is frustrated while he tries to help Rose decorate her mum's tree.





	

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt on tumblr from onthedriftinthetardis: Tangled in fairy lights. Thank you!! Sorry I forgot to credit you at first!
> 
> Day ten of ['Advent'.](http://archiveofourown.org/series/596995)

“It’s not funny, Rose.”

She couldn’t answer him, she was laughing too hard. 

“I _said_ , ‘it’s not funny, Rose.’”

“But it _is_ Doctor!” She looked up at him, doing her best to stifle her giggles, just in time to see him struggling against the lights that had, by some feat of physics she couldn’t explain, wrapped themselves all around him, head to toe. 

His scowl was not contained by his captivity, his forehead wrinkles displaying his displeasure. She was not cowed in the least by the display. 

“Your mum booby-trapped these. I know it.”

“Oh, stop. She did not.”

“She did,” he insisted, petulant. Rose giggled again. “Oi! I’m in a predicament, here!”

Her laughter ratcheted up until she was howling, clutching her sides and falling over to one side on her mother’s couch. After a couple of minutes, she gathered herself enough to speak. 

“You - you look like that time we landed on the planet Wongo. Remember? The women tied you up and dragged you off to their village?”

“Now, how was _that_ funny?” he demanded. “I could have been sacrificed as a god!”

Rose snorted. “Nobody said anything about any god to me.”

“You weren’t there,” he told her in a haughty, disinterested tone. “They revered me.”

“Enough to truss you up and tie you to a pole in the center of the village?”

He didn’t answer for a moment, and she went on. “They were _never_ going to sacrifice you, Doctor. I’d have saved you. _Did_ , in fact, if you’ll remember.”

The Doctor didn’t acknowledge her daring rescue, he just continued to wriggle around inside the looping strands of fairy lights, growing increasingly desperate to escape but just making things worse for himself.

“You could get off your bum and come rescue me _now_ , you know,” he grumbled.

“I know,” she answered merrily. “But this is too much fun.”

“Oh, I’ll give you fun, Rose Tyler. You just wait until we get back to the TARDIS. I’ll tie you up but good.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Is that a promise?”

“Rose!” he cried, visibly discouraged that his threat hadn’t worked. 

“What?” she answered, unperturbed. 

“Just you wait, Rose. Just you wait and see if I ever come back to your mother’s for Christmas.”

“Looks like you may not have to. Looks like we won’t be able to leave my Mum’s _this_ Christmas.”

If he had had the freedom of his hands, she was sure he would have been making his favorite rude gesture at her. She didn’t care.

“You’ll bring me back, though.”

“Oh yeah? What makes you so sure of that?” His voice was challenging and confident. Rose thought his cocky attitude while tangled in fairy lights was more than a little hilarious, but choked down her laugh. Instead, she got to her feet and walked over to him, putting her hands on his shoulders and kissing the tip of his nose.

“Because you love me,” she said simply. “And I love you. And we do things to make each other happy.”

He grumbled in response. “Not all that happy right now, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“And that’s a shame,” she retorted lightly. “This is supposed to be festive, Doctor.”

He gave her a withering look. “Do I look festive to you?”

Rose’s tongue went between her teeth. “Not yet…” She took a step back and bent down, plugging the lights in, then admired her handiwork. 

“Oh, ha ha, Rose. Very funny.”

She ignored him. “It’s missing something…aha!” She bent over and snatched something up, then placed it on top of his head with a flourish. “There! Perfect!”

Brightly colored lights wrapped around him like a Christmas tree, reflecting off the leather of his jacket. The Santa hat she’d put on his head flopped down onto the side of his face, and he stuck his bottom lip out and blew to try to dislodge the white ball of fluff on the end of the hat. It rocked a little in his breath, then came back down to hit his cheek again. He muttered a Gallifreyan curse under his breath. 

“Alright then, you’ve had your laugh at me expense. Unwrap me.”

“Here?” She gave him a lascivious grin. “We’re still at my mum’s.”

As if conjured by her words, the flat door opened and Jackie Tyler entered in a blur of velour tracksuit, calling out. “Rose! Doctor! I looked everywhere but couldn’t find - oh!” She stopped suddenly when she saw the Doctor and bent double, putting her hands on her knees, laughing loudly. 

The Doctor let out a long-suffering sigh. “Rose, please. This couldn’t possibly be any more humiliating. Will you help me now?”

“Yes, Doctor. I’ll help you.” She started pulling the loops over his head, dislodging the Santa hat. She mused. “The lights looked good on you.”

“Shut up.”

“You love me.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to _like_ you all the time.”

Rose stood on tiptoe to catch his mouth with a kiss. “I know. As long as you love me.”

She freed his arms, and he wrapped them around her waist. “I do.”

“Good.”

“But I’m never being your bloody Christmas tree again.”

“Deal.”


End file.
